Paul and Carolyn Fetters

Paul and Carolyn Fetters own three Training Spot Gyms in Orange County. Home to The TakeDown ChallengeTM, TSpot is located at 16942 Gothard St. in Huntinton Beach, a second HB location at 440 Main St., and the newest gym at 1534 Adams Ave. in Costa Mesa. Paul is certified through the State of CA to speak in Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness. He regularly speaks to several Police and City Agencies throughout OC. For more info, please call (714) 841-9294 or( 714) 374-7448 or visit www.tspot.org

Up until recently, it’s been thought that your skeletal system plays just three roles:

Provide a structure for your muscles to attach to and protect your vital organs.

Act as “storage” for important minerals like magnesium and calcium.

Harbor the body’s blood-producing tissues and part of the cellular immune system.

Now there’s a fourth function. It’s been found that bones have hormone-like proteins that can affect insulin sensitivity (which can directly affect weight management.) Not only that, but osteoporosis has now also been linked to arteriosclerosis (calcification of the arteries).

Healthy bones have cells called osteoblasts that are responsible for producing the signaling protein called osteocalcin.

And a study published in the April 2011 edition of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research; found that osteocalcin plays a direct role in insulin secretion in the pancreas. What’s more, it also improves insulin sensitivity throughout the body.

As well, it seems that osteocalcin is linked to the hormone leptin. The higher your osteocalcin levels, the lower your leptin. (Lower leptin levels are associated with a healthy weight. Higher levels are indicative of leptin resistance—commonly found in overweight and obese people.)

If that wasn’t enough, weak bones are an EXCELLENT indicator of arteriosclerosis. As calcium leaves the bones during osteoporosis, it gets caught in the blood vessels, building up and creating deadly plaque deposits.

So bottom line, what does all this mean? Weak and unhealthy bones mean a greater risk for increased fat mass, inflammation, and heart disease. Which means only one thing—to live a long, disease-free life, make sure to keep your bones healthy!

Get enough calcium every day. Around 1,000mg is optimal based on the research. Also, you need to make sure that calcium actually gets absorbed and metabolized. For that, make sure to get enough vitamin K2, normally found in green leafy veggies. Or, it can also be taken as a supplement. And finally, exercise and lift weights at least 2x a week.

It’s proven to boost your bone density, as well as strengthening your tendons, ligaments and joints, protecting them against breaks and fractures. Just like muscles, bones respond when they are stressed, in other words, when they are forced to bear more weight than they are used to. This can be achieved by weight bearing or impact exercises. We recommend that you use professionally supervised exercise programs, and should be carried out with professional supervision. So there you have it. Take care of those bones… and they’ll take care of you!

Ask anyone worth their salt who works in fitness and/or nutrition and they’ll tell you it’s the truth.

This begs the question: If your goal is to lose weight, can you do so by focusing on your diet only?

Yes, you can, but you’ll risk being what’s called “skinny-fat.”

Skinny-fat is looking nice and slim with your clothes on, but when you take them off, it’s a different story. Because you don’t exercise regularly, you have little muscle tone, no definition and you look a little soft all around.

By exercising you create physical strength, which has a huge impact on the quality of your life; such as, getting up and down off the floor, in and out of your car, and carrying groceries, all these become simpler and you won’t give them a second thought if you have physical strength.

The simple truth is that if you want to be in optimum shape and look and feel great, you have to exercise and eat healthily.

But, of course, there are other reasons. Here are five of them and the role exercise and nutrition play...

1. You’ll reduce your chances of getting diabetes.

Exercise: When you exercise your heart beats a little faster and you breathe a little harder. Your muscles, in turn, use more glucose (the sugar in your bloodstream.) Do this consistently and over time it will lower your blood sugar level which in turn makes the insulin in your body work better.

Nutrition: According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health the following food strategy will help you avoid type 2 diabetes: 1) Choose whole grains and whole-grain products; 2) Skip sugary drinks and choose water; 3) Choose good fats; 4) Limit red meat and avoid processed meat; 5) If you smoke, quit; 6) Moderate your consumption of alcohol.

2. You’ll have healthy bones - Osteoporosis is a disease in which your bones become weak and brittle.

Exercise: Your bones are living tissues that become stronger with exercise. During the third decade of our lives, our bones begin to lose their strength. Regular exercise increases your bone strength and bone density. Exercise also helps us maintain muscle strength, coordination, and balance. This is important because strong muscles help prevent falls and fractures. The best exercises for bone strength are the weight-bearing kind such as weight training, walking, jogging, hiking, tennis and dancing.

Nutrition: There are two key nutrients your body uses to build strong bones: Calcium and Vitamin D. Foods that are known to be good for you bones are dairy products such as eggs, low-fat and non-fat milk, yogurt and cheese; canned sardines and salmon (with bones); tuna; dark, leafy greens, such as kale, arugula, watercress, and collard; broccoli; almond butter; soy beans and nuts.

3. You’ll have less stress - According to the American Medical Association, stress is the basic cause of more than 60% of all human illness and disease!

Exercise: Physical activity increases your brain’s production of endorphins. Endorphins give you a sense of well-being and euphoria. Exercise also improves blood flow and your body’s ability to use oxygen both of which have a direct, positive result on your brain’s well-being.

Nutrition: Some foods help stabilize your blood sugar which helps keep you on an even keel when it comes to your emotions. Foods to embrace are green leafy vegetables, wild caught Alaskan Salmon, blueberries, pistachios, dark chocolate, avocado, nuts and seeds, red peppers, and green tea (to name a few.)

4. You’ll get more sleep - Sleep disorders affect 40% of adults according to research done by Quebec’s Laval University. When you don’t get enough sleep, you could get sick easier as lack of sleep reduces your body’s ability to fight illness; your chances of developing heart disease or having a stroke is increased; your decision making, memory, reasoning, and problem solving suffers; your risk of diabetes increases and your looks suffer.

Exercise: An Oregon State University study showed that people who did 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a week reported a 65-percent improvement in sleep quality. Study participants who exercised found that they felt less drowsy during the day compared to those who were less physically active. Study researcher, Brad Cardinal, professor of exercise science at the university says, “Physical activity may not just be good for the waistline and heart, but it also can help you sleep.

Nutrition: The research is far from definitive but it’s thought that eating some foods before bedtime promotes sleep while eating other food hinders it. Foods you’ll want to avoid before bedtime are alcohol of any kind, coffee, dark chocolate, energy drinks, soda, spicy food, fatty foods, steak, chicken, and grapefruit.

5. You’ll look younger - Your metabolism starts to slow down in your thirties. Mid-to-late thirties is when some people (not all) first begin wanting to look younger. When you’re happy with how you look you tend to be happier and have more self-confidence.

Exercise: A 2014 study done by McMaster University in Ontario, Canada came to the conclusion that the best way to look younger is not through anti-aging creams, but through regular exercise. Researchers used a patch of skin on people’s buttock for the study. They found that people who were over 65 and adopted an exercise regimen for three months had skin (in the study area) that resembled those of 20 to 40-year-olds. Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, who oversaw the study, says “All they had done different was exercise. It is astonishing to consider all of the intricate ways in which exercise changes our bodies.”

Nutrition: “Your diet directly affects your day-to-day appearance and plays a significant role in how well you age,” says New York City doctor Joshua Zeichner, MD. If you want to look younger than your years when you get older, here are some of the foods you should focus on: watermelon (it’s high in lycopene which helps stave off sun damage to your skin) ; pomegranates (high in antioxidants that help prevent fine lines, wrinkles and dryness.); blueberries (contain antioxidants that brighten the skin and even out its tone.); lobster (contains zinc which accelerates renewal of your skin cells); kale (high in iron lack of which can cause you skin to look pale); avocado (high in oleic acid which helps moisturize your skin); cantaloupe (contains beta carotene which helps regular skin cells on your scalp and your skin’s outer layer.

It’s been said that when it comes to an overall healthy lifestyle, nutrition is 70% of the puzzle and exercise is 30%. Some put nutrition as high as 80%. Which makes it clear that if you want to sleep better, have less stress in your life, have healthy bones and avoid type 2 diabetes (among other benefits), you need a lifestyle strategy that includes both exercise and nutrition.

Are you 40, 50, or 60 years old? Do you wish you had the “spring in your step” that you had in your younger days? How about being as strong and fit as you were in college or back in your 20s? I’m here to tell you that this is ALL possible and I am living proof. I’m sure I have met many of you, but for those I have not met, my name is Paul Fetters and I will turn 60 years old later this year. I have four children ranging in age from 20 to 25 years old.

I am no different than you. I don’t have a superpower that allows me to stay on track with my workouts and healthy eating habits. There is a vast difference between walking into the gym only to aimlessly throw together a routine versus heading there with a plan to work hard and make the most of your time. I am speaking to you about training with a purpose. Wouldn’t you like to step into the gym knowing that each training session is going to make a difference? That you are experiencing change inside and outside of your body and seeing results? I want you to get excited about what is possible! I often lead seminars to policeman, firemen, city workers and professional athletes and my message is always the same: It is never too late to make a difference. What you may find surprising is that the older you get, the greater the impact you have on your health and fitness!

After all these years

When I first competed in bodybuilding in my early twenties I never imagined that I could feel this strong, vibrant and energized at nearly 60 years old! With each year that passes, I am more excited than ever before to experience for myself what is physically possible. And I want you to feel that way too!

I vividly remember as a teenager wanting to invite my then-48-year-old father to play racquetball with me but was too afraid to ask, fearing he might have a heart attack. At that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would stay healthy and fit for my children. My father neglected his personal fitness so he could provide for the family. Unfortunately, he died prematurely due to poor health. He was once an All-American Lacrosse player. Any one of his eight children would much rather have had less “stuff “and at least two more decades to spend with a healthy father in our lives. Had he understood that taking care of us included taking care of himself, who knows how his or our lives may have been different?

This is exactly why I feel so strongly about the type of service that I provide. I feel lucky to have found my purpose 40 years ago; even as a young bodybuilder I knew I was meant to carry out my passion for weight lifting by helping others discover what is truly possible through strength and fitness. How many families can I touch by helping fathers realize how important they are? The goal is not to make you look like Mr. America, but be able to run, hop, skip and jump with your children until you tire them out!

Weights are the way

The ever elusive “fountain of youth” is found through weight training. More specifically, by way of shedding unwanted body fat and building muscle to support your aging bones and tissue—you can actually alter your body composition daily at the cellular level as you become more active, stronger, and ultimately healthier! Did you know that 80% of the bad knees, bad backs, bad shoulders, etc. that many suffer as they grow older is due to lack of structural strength (muscle)? Believe it or not, it is muscle that holds the skeletal system together. It is muscle that is the “engine” which drives your body. It is muscle that burns the most calories even while you sleep. And it is muscle that makes your body that nice shape that you want it to be! Weight training can truly change your life.

But first, you have to make your health a priority. You have to accept that being able to run and play with your kids requires more than simple determination. It starts with closer awareness and understanding of the importance of making a lifestyle change right now to live the life you want to in ten or twenty years. Your quality and enjoyment of life depends on the decisions you make today and every day.It is my goal as a leading Orange County health and fitness provider to help you not only realize your goals, but make them feel reasonable and achievable. Once you discover your true intention and motivation behind your exercise plan, you will experience the kind of results that you’ve been waiting years for. You’ll have enough energy for your family and who knows, you might even look forward to your workouts. It’s time to get the spring back in your step!

Growing older brings about numerous physiological changes including less-flexible muscles, sagging skin, slower metabolic processes and weight gain. Other changes might include bone deterioration and less efficiency of the heart; so finding the motivation to get in shape and stay healthy is crucial to help alleviate or prevent some of these issues.

Though we believe that everyone should weight train, we recognize that weightlifting is especially important for women—and it’s women who are less likely to make a habit of this form of exercise. Whether it’s due to the tired myth that women can bulk up from weightlifting, or because they feel less comfortable in the weight room, it is costly to their wellbeing. Because women have less muscle than men do to begin with, there is greater need to lift weights to prevent the natural loss that occurs during the aging process. So if you’ve been avoiding lifting weights because you think you’ll get mannish or bulky, that’s the last thing you should worry about! It is proven that women do not have the same levels of anabolic hormones that men have, and that’s the key component in building muscle.

One of the top reasons women should lift weights is because women are also more prone to bone and joint issues as they age in comparison to men. The muscle tells the bone where to go, not the other way around, so as you increase your muscle strength, you’ll improve your posture and better support your joints. Additionally, a strong core is key for balance and joint health alike as balance is highly linked to strong hip and core muscles. By training your core, you will effectively reduce your risk of falling and lessen stress to the knee joints.

Sometimes a reality check like a serious injury or illness can provide enough motivation to get into shape. Carrying extra weight as you age reduces your overall health and wellness but the good news is: exercise and proper nutrition can actually counteract potential problems. In “Psychology Today,” Susan Krauss Whitbourne discusses how exercise can reduce blood pressure and lower your risk for type 2 diabetes. She notes that your immune system will improve, you’ll build muscle mass and decrease the risk of osteoporosis through exercise. Getting in shape can also help you sleep better, have more energy, and maintain your sex drive. Lastly, studies also link weightlifting to lower anxiety and better overall mental health.

As you can see, there are many benefits and we realize just getting started is the hardest part!

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they begin an exercise program is not thinking about their health and fitness as a journey; it has everything to do with understanding what you expect and desire for yourself a year from now instead of focusing on crushing it right now.

It’s important to start slow with a well-organized plan. Injuries caused by starting too fast will only set you back further. Far too many people needlessly struggle with fitness because they try to do it alone. There is no substitute for having expert guidance, a program designed specifically for you by a fitness professional, and the accountability and support to see it through.

At The Training Spot, we encourage you to feel proud of your efforts and we aim to give you the tools for managing your own fitness goals so that you can feel empowered and motivated to get in shape and stay there.

Every day I speak to people on the many benefits of exercise and good nutrition. When I tell them about how they could live with vitality into their eighties and beyond their only question is, “When can I start?”

One of my favorite authors Dr. Henry Lodge, M.D. wrote a book called “Younger Next Year.” In it, he writes “Some 70 percent of premature death and aging is lifestyle related. Heart attacks, strokes, the common cancers, diabetes, most falls, fractures and serious injuries and many more illnesses are primarily caused by the way we live. If we had the will to do it, we could eliminate more than half of all disease in men and women over fifty. Not delay it, eliminate it.”

I find myself telling people more and more why I do what I do…train with weights, do cardiovascular exercises, consistently make good food choices, don’t miss meals, don’t skip breakfast and get plenty of rest.

The reason is, there is such a huge payoff for doing these things. Such as, having tons of energy, feeling good in my clothes, sleeping well, being able to keep up with my kids and wife, feeling enthusiastic about life, feeling strong just walking around, setting a good example for my children to follow and knowing I am doing the right thing internally to live a long and fulfilling life. Then there is the superficial bonus of liking the way I look with my shirt off at 58.

Do you really think I would do any of it if there wasn’t such a huge tangible payoff? Of course not. Think of all the things I could do if I didn’t spend time exercising. I could watch more TV, I could play games on my computer, or check Facebook, Instagram or Twitter mindlessly for hours, or I could work more, there’s always that.

Think of all the time I would save if I didn’t go on those beautiful trail runs with my wife Carolyn, or when we go for long walks and talk about life and our future together.

I could save a ton of time if I never trained with my son Matt in the gym anymore, trying to out lift each other, laughing and talking together. Sheesh, what a time waster that is.

I think you get my point. I take good care of myself because the rewards are amazing. This is the good life, and it’s out there waiting for you. A life characterized by strong, aerobically fit muscles, a healthy heart, lean body, good bones, good immune system, and an alert, inquisitive, optimistic mind.

So yes, I tell people I wouldn’t do any of it if there wasn’t such a huge payoff. It’s what I love most about our business, we can change lives, help build relationships, and yes, as my favorite book says we can help you become younger in one year.

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The mission of each monthly edition is to serve as a resource for our readership - features penned by experts in their respective industries designed to provide education, information and entertainment focused on the interests of mature adults in Orange County.